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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc. (Read 12803 times)
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I may be blonde but...

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #15 - Aug 11th, 2011 at 6:00pm
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I admit to thinking about a scathing monologue over at LJ but decided against it - for now.
Rather, this came to me as I was laying bricks for the new patio:

May those who love us, love us.
And for those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he can not turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we may know them by their limping.


Methinks we will know them well by their limping.  Grin
  

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Yuchtar
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #16 - Aug 11th, 2011 at 7:26pm
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Quote:
Methinks we will know them well by their limping.


Buahahahahahahahahahaha!


Thanks, I needed that.


  Smiley

  

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Neesierie
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #17 - Aug 11th, 2011 at 8:33pm
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OMG!  Shocked  Where did you find that ditty?  I have to make a copy of it -- pronto! *giggle*

Great one, Deb!  LOL
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #18 - Aug 11th, 2011 at 8:50pm
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It's an old Irish saying.  Smiley
  

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Matt
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #19 - Aug 14th, 2011 at 4:38pm
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I thought I recognized it. Cool! Smiley
  

What do you mean, we're out of coffee!
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #20 - Aug 16th, 2011 at 1:19am
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Back to the topic at hand (sort of):

In going over the various rules and regulations and such (and uncovering booboos from long ago) it occurred to me that the medal array and uniform in Identified may not have been as wrong as many of us have assumed for so long.

Identified was the pilot and Anderson and the crew would have taken great pains to get things looking right. The original concept of Straker (according to various sources, notably interviews with Bishop) was a desk-jockey – the irritable guy giving orders from his underground office. It was only after Bishop had been in the role for a bit, and there were some cast and character changes, that Straker was expanded into a major character. So the character as originally conceived may well have been meant to be an older man.

It's not like Bishop couldn't have handled it. And Straker's blondness would certainly hide any white coming in.

And according to some sources, Jackson's birth year was the same as Vladek Sheybal's - they simply grayed his hair a bit to make him look older.

Now the ribbon array on Straker’s uniform in Identified is pretty close to correct for an acting officer of 40 or so. The few placement issues on the ribbons can easily be explained by the costume department getting their info from a source that wasn’t as accurate as it could have been - or even just being in a hurry.

But one key that the array may not have been a complete mistake is that the Master Pilot’s Wings badge goes perfectly with the rest of that array. That particular pilot's badge requires 15 years as a rated US military pilot. (I doubt being a private pilot in high school would have counted for much except to smooth the way into pilot's school. But I could be wrong.) So that means at least 16 years as a commissioned officer with 15 of that as an officer with flying duties.

Now, the Man Who Came Back was written and filmed much later - in the second set of filming. By this time Straker had definitely gone from desk-jockey to 'action hero'.  And this is the first time we hear that Straker was actually an astronaut rather than an intelligence officer with a flight rating and two years at MIT. (And the stint at MIT may well have been a feasibility study for building Moonbases for all we really know.)

So putting Straker as an astronaut after 1970 makes everything fit.

Of course the array in Confetti Check is a complete fubar, but considering how hard it was to even get a frame cap, I seriously doubt it even crossed their minds that somebody might compare it to the one in Identified.

Thoughts  :Smiley
  

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Matt
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #21 - Aug 16th, 2011 at 2:00am
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I have to admit, when I first saw UFO as a child, I had assumed that Straker was in his late thirties in the beginning of Identified. That would have put him in his late forties in 1980.

One of the advantages of having blonde hair, is it tends to hide the grey very nicely! Grin I speak from experience. Wink

Straker hair is much lighter than mine, so he could hide a multitude of sins. Roll Eyes

The time needed for the Master Pilots Wings adds a whole new dimension to the discussion. Straker's rank, ribbons, and age (40ish) would fall well inline with the norm. While I will stay with the younger version of Ed in my "Soul Mates" saga, and Hewett series, I may use the older version for other stories.

Incidentally, that age group would put Straker right in with the majority of the Mercury, Gemini, and MOL astronauts. Smiley
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #22 - Aug 16th, 2011 at 2:28am
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I'm tending toward viewing the whole astronaut thing as a late addon since he wasn't wearing the astronaut's wings in the pilot - unless you assume the Missileman badge was meant to represent an astronaut corps badge. The astronaut badge might have been new enough that Anderson's people couldn't get one, or didn't think it mattered. Shocked
  

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Matt
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #23 - Aug 16th, 2011 at 2:33pm
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I'm going to address the astronaut aspect in my next story. How Ed and Craig put SID into space, will be explained, as well as how Ed and Ginny meet for the first time. Kiss Wink

I checked all the DOB's for the 3 groups of MOL astronauts, the very youngest one was Karol Bobko, from group 2. He was born on December 23, 1937.

One other point to consider, Straker was a Silver Star recipent. This is a combat award, only given for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. The write up, on the award, can be found here.

This is the third highest award, the USAF doesn't give them away and it means that Straker saw combat somewhere, Korea or Vietnam. (Had he earned it in combat with aliens durring the MOL mission, it would have been suppressed in the interest of national security. He would have the award, but not be able to wear the ribbon openly. There is a precident for that in the US submarine service.)
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #24 - Aug 16th, 2011 at 3:25pm
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Just put up the new revised older history for Straker at http://www.shadolibrary.org/ops/straker/indexc.shtml

Like you, my stories will still use the younger version, but the older version is closer to what we can identify on screen. (No matter what other people say.)  Wink
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #25 - Apr 7th, 2014 at 9:19am
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I once met Ed Bishop, and his voice was deeper pitched than Ed Straker's. I asked him about this, and he said that he WAS talking like Straker. I realized later why :: UFO was likely filmed at 24 frames/second, but shown on UK television at 25 frames/second, thus causing 4.166666% rise in frequency and speed.
  
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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #26 - Apr 7th, 2014 at 4:28pm
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UFO had the same issue on its first runs in the US - we didn't hear Bishop's voice in its 'normal' tones until it was released on LaserDisc.
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #27 - Sep 10th, 2015 at 12:02pm
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Regarding time in grade, I can only speculate that Straker might have received his initial commission at a higher rank than 2nd LT. I know in the case of the Navy, that certain specialties such as medicine can start as LT (O-3). I am not sure if an accelerated rank would be a possible option.

Political connections are another. General Eisenhower moved quickly to 5 star General with the help of the First Lady and of course FDR.
  

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Re: Commander Straker, his backstory, Vietnam, etc.
Reply #28 - Sep 16th, 2015 at 1:27pm
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The US militaries really stiffened up the promotion rules after WWII. Time in Grade and required schooling became VERY strict. Plus, promotions after O5 are highly political - those are pretty rarified positions. I don't see Straker as being willing or able to play the political games needed for that level.

Medical specialists are a highly educated and highly valuable group. Having them come at a rank appropriate to their age and years of education makes sense.
  

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